


Tenacious

by xKrypton_Bliss



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Office, Banter, Exploring Pairs as Enemies, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gaslighting, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Manipulation, Mild Smut, Reader-Insert, Stalking, Supportive Wonho, graphic designer, office life, supportive coworkers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:48:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24761848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xKrypton_Bliss/pseuds/xKrypton_Bliss
Summary: You are thrilled to be entering a new job, making loads of friends, particularly getting close to one of them. Can this new and better environment full of fun and loving people be your savior or your demise?
Relationships: Lee Hoseok | Wonho & Reader, Lee Hoseok | Wonho & You, Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Reader, Lee Hoseok | Wonho/You, You - Relationship
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Tenacious

**Author's Note:**

> Hello — I have been coerced by a few friends to at least put the first chapter up, so unfortunately, my summary is weak, and my story is not yet complete, but hopefully, I can update this over time :) Please enjoy the first chapter.

"Thanks so much for coming in!" says the female interviewer as she shakes your hand. "We'll be in touch shortly after we've interviewed a few more people."

"Thank _you_ for giving me the opportunity!" you say with a wide smile, letting go of the female's and shake the second interviewer's hand.

You leave the small meeting room in the main area lobby, walking in front of the reception desk and exiting the building. Feeling ecstatic about how the interview went as it replays in your head, you make your way towards your car in the visitors' parking area. Out of all the countless interviews you had been in — phone, webcam, or in person — this one left you with the best impression. The sleek and modern interior with enormous art pieces and installations breathes life and light into you, and the interviewers were fun to talk to. Relaxed and non-scripted interviews were more your forté rather than stuffed with the same prewritten and dry questions, constantly battling thoughts of _when is this interview going to be over_ , and _I'm sure I'm under-qualified just as usual._

* * *

The next morning, dread washes over you as you wake up, knowing you have to go back to the office your current job is in. You slowly get up and do your daily morning routine. The clothes you have chosen are casual, as usual within the last year, because you really could not care less. Who is even going to see you anyway in this tiny office? The two-people marketing team is shoved all the way to the back, almost out of sight even. A giant sigh was let out as you made your way to work. Again.

You have been trying to get out of there on and off for about a year now due to — not the workload — but the people. Well, partially the workload too, which it lacked. You try to tell yourself some people would be happy to have on and off work like that, ranging from nothing to do to something to do for random amounts of time. Yet, it drained you. The whole office drained you, with its lack of color, décor, and of course, the people. The only lights that were in your area are from the windows and computer screens. 

You walk down the hallway, saying good morning to whomever says it to you first. Once you have reached your desk, you open the left top drawer to bring out your mug. Ever since someone dared to use your mug and left it out in the sink, you have kept inside your desk since then. You and your coworkers might be friendly with each other, but they are definitely not your friends. You shudder at the thought of who would use your mug. _How could they_. You make your way to the break room, grab a K-cup, stick it in the old Keurig, put your mug underneath, and wait impatiently for it to fill up. You scroll through your phone to cure idling. 

"Hey."

You look up. "Mornin'."

Your coworker, Leigh, walks to the fridge and puts her lunchbox in. She looked around, making sure no one was in sight. "So how did the interview go?" she whispers. She was the only one you got on a little better than most, so you know she would not rat you out.

You lowered your voice. "I think it went well. Though it doesn't matter if it did, it doesn't mean any guarantee," you say dejectedly. Loads of interviews you have gone to, whether it was good or bad, no one bothered to contact you. _Typical_ , you thought. 

"You never know," she says in a singsong voice. "But I think this time, you got this."

The Keurig stopped spitting your brew. You walk over and grab the mug full of liquid magic before walking back to your desk and pour in the powder creamer and sugar into your aromatic morning miracle, stirring it all together. As you are about to take a sip, your manager comes up to you with a stern look on his face. The one other designer looks between you and him briefly before turning back to his screen. 

"Y/N, we need these assets uploaded into the system by noon." He drops a small stack of papers next to you on your desk. You put your mug down and shift over to look through them.

"Tony, this... I can't get this done by noon, on top of the photoshoot project I have to clip," you say, voice laced with concern, with a teeny edge of exasperation, hoping he would not notice that.

"Y/N, I know, I know, but we're in a bit of a tight spot here," he says, crossing his arms. "We've got a big meeting with the client and his stores and we need to show him something for it. Wes is already tied up with the same thing as well since I briefed him earlier on it."

You nodded. "Understood." He walks away.

_Great_. Now you have two things that need to be done ASAP. You know this is the daily, but why did they not assign any of this yesterday when it was quiet all day and all you did was either draw or watch YouTube. You sigh. It is what it is. You finally take that sip of your coffee you needed so badly to get through the day and start working. 

**3:08 PM**

You rapidly blink the dryness away from your eyes. You lean back into your chair and stretch your limbs far away as possible from your core. The assets were done on time — barely — for the meeting, and you just now finished the photoshoot project that was supposed to be done a few hours ago, but thankfully, that particular client was okay with it being late. You check the queue warily on the computer just to see if there were little assignments coming in. _Oh, thank goodness,_ you thought in relief. 

**0 Assigned Tasks**

You decided to take a break, because, obviously, you need it as your stomach growled in anger for skipping lunch today. You grab your mini backpack and throw your phone in.

"I'll be back," you say to Tony.

Without looking up from his screen, he hums in response.

Once outside the building and in your car, you take your phone out and notice there was a missed call and a voicemail. 

_"Hi, Y/N. This is Tiffany from PeriWorks. I just wanted to call and let you know that... we are offering the position to you if you would like to accept! Please call me back at this number to let us know your answer. Again, we appreciate you coming in and interviewing with us. We hope to hear from you soon. Have a good day."_

You let out a shaggy breath of air that you did not realize you were holding. You just got the job. At a new place, a _better_ place. You hit the phone icon next to the number that called you earlier.

"Hello? Yes, this is Y/N. I would like to tell you...

That I accept."

* * *

Upon seeing the skyscraper again, but this time, on your first day, you breathe in the downtown air, mostly filled with the scent of the bakery café nearby. You walk inside through the front entrance, glancing over at the meeting room you were just in a couple weeks ago. Your heels clack against the white glossy granite floor as you approach the reception desk in front of you. 

"Good morning!" the receptionist greeted you. "How can I help you?"

"Ah, yes, I'm looking for the elevators to get to PeriWorks?"

"Are you visiting or have business with them?"

"It'll be my first day working for them actually," you beam, smiling widely. 

"Oh, congratulations! I've heard good things about the company so you're definitely in good hands."

She looks back down to her computer, mouse in control, clicking a few times here and there. 

"Can I see your ID?"

You look through your mini backpack and find your wallet, pulling out your ID and handing it to her.

"Thank you." She enters in the information on your ID into the system and hands it back to you. She opens a drawer and pulls out what looks circular and black with a keyring and types in something on the number pad. She turns to you and smiles, holding the item in her hand within clear view.

"Okay," she begins, "This key fob here lets you in the building, no matter what time of day it is, including weekends. There will be a guard here every day at any given hour. Now, I hate to sound stern already on your first day — forgive me — but a lot of people have lost this, costing us quite a bit of money, _so do not lose this_. Otherwise, you won't be able to enter the building for two weeks." 

You nod. "Got it."

"Great." She drops the key fob in your hand and you immediately hook it on with your keys. "Well, welcome! And not to make you even more late — sorry for such a long process, gotta have that security measure — the elevators are both on the left left and right sides of the building around those corners." She gestures towards the glossy dark and sparkly granite walls where the sign for the elevators are, in which you missed earlier as it blended in well with the wall. _Bad design_ , you thought. _Or... good design if it was hidden on purpose._

"Thank you so much!" 

"You're welcome! Enjoy your first day!"

* * *

You received an RFID photo badge so you could enter the office with ease. _More security measures, dang. Better to be safe than sorry._ As you are being led to your department, an HR person accompanies you, asking you questions on how you are feeling for your first day and chats with you. You pass by a set of cubicles with mild morning chatter before going around the corner seeing another set. This time, there were a couple of people around a person's cube, analyzing a design on the screen, a few talking animatedly, and the rest were working on their computers. A familiar curly auburn-haired woman comes into view, sitting at her cube typing an email. 

"Tiffany, hi! Here's your new hire all ready to go." 

"Great, thank you!" She turns to you, "So, how are you feeling?"

"Excited, a bit nervous," you say, smiling. "But I hope I'll do okay."

She chuckles. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that." She gets up from her chair. "C'mon, let's introduce you to everyone."

You nod.

"Y/N, this is Alice." A long-haired platinum blonde woman turns around, showing a vertical eyebrow piercing and brilliant blue eyes. "Hi! Nice to meet you." You two shake hands and you repeat the same sentiment. 

"And this is Tiana." A woman with voluminously curled rich blue hair turns around and greets you with the biggest smile. "Hey, how are ya? Good to meet you!" 

"Likewise! I love that blue on you!"

"Thanks! I just had it done over the weekend. I'm liking it so far." She bounces her curls over her hand.

Tiffany gestures towards an empty cube that sits inward, touching the two other cubes not in your quad with the two women you just met. The end of your new work station is the beginning of Alice's, whose one wall faces out to a walkway. 

"This one is yours. Make yourself feel at home — well, not too at home, but decorate it to your liking! You can settle your belongings there before I introduce you to everyone else."

She takes you around, introducing you to about more than sixteen people, all seemingly joyful and fun. You realize that there was only one person left that you have yet to know by name and face. Both of you approach him. As you near him, you notice his face is so close to the screen, you think you see fog appearing from under his slightly scrunched nose. Tiffany quietly snickers next to you.

"Hey," she whispers as she nudges you. "Watch this."

You look on with confusion written on your face. She sneaks up behind him and kicks his chair, causing his nose and maybe a part of his face to hit the screen briefly, leaving an oily mark. You let out a soft snicker, covering your mouth immediately, trying not to get on anyone's bad side already if any.

The man rubs his nose. "What was that?!"

Tiffany lets out a full blown laugh. "You just were so close to the screen staring hard at a pixel difference, I just had to. Just watch out next time, yeah?" She turns her head and winks at you. 

The man follows her gaze and finds you standing next to her. His sleek black hair covers his forehead, just tossed a little to the side, making his eyebrows peek through. His build is quite muscular, but not intimidating. His wide eyes soften, looking back at Tiffany, loosely pointing at you as he tilts his head. 

"Is this the new hire?"

"Yep."

"Ah." He pushes himself off the chair, smoothing his light blue and white speckled woven dress shirt. He extends his hand out to you. You take it in yours and shake it. It feels rough, calloused, but the gentle warmth of his hand is calming to you. "Hi, I'm Wonho. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"Y/N. Likewise." 

He smiles at the sound of your name. Before he let go, he seemed to have studied your features a bit. 

"What are you working on?" Tiffany inquires.

"Oh, just a few Grilla billboard ads that are going up sometime soon. Just gotta make sure I get the specs right before I get it to press."

"Does a billboard ad require a nose and maybe an eye for that tiny pixel that pretty much all people won't notice?" you muse.

"Hey! If it makes _me_ feel better, I will sacrifice an eye and a tooth — I mean, my nostrils — I _guess_!" he exclaims, throwing his hands in the air before crossing his arms, feigning defense, face in a frown. He looks up at you through his bangs and smirks. For some reason, that made your cheeks tingle. Good thing you wore full coverage foundation today. 

He turns to Tiffany, grinning. 

"She'll fit in just well."


End file.
